Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Dearest Ones,

Even as I write this, poor Ben is nearby doing his pre-back-to-school fifth-grade homework. "Morose" does not even begin to capture his mood. "Maybe school will burn down!" I offered, and his face brightened, but only briefly. There is just nobody who hates going back to school like our Ben. Sigh.

I am in late-August mode: dead-heading the black-eyed Susans; comforting mopey children with buttered toast and sliced-up peaches and card games; canning wild grape jam and pickled green beans; reading this fantastic book; taking down our SUMMER doorway garland; scrambling to finish work that I didn't finish because I wasn't working because we were on vacation.

My friend Daniel was unimpressed with that last recipe. "What's next?" he asked. "Buttered bread?" But I'll tell you: sometimes I feel like what I have to offer is a concept--a way to think about dinner, or what dinner could be. Dinner could be mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil, with some bread on the side. It doesn't have to be some big production or some cooked something or a serving platter with meat on it, you know? That's all. So yes, maybe buttered bread next week!